"When we're crossing that highway, we're taking our lives into our hands," Andrus said. "If we could get off on Boulevard East and walk down the stairs that are there, that would be good. If we could cross over the pedestrian bridge that is there, that also would be good."
Bridge to nowhere
There's only one problem.
Neither access is open to pedestrian commuters. The stairs that link upper Weehawken to the Light Rail station remain closed. The pedestrian bridge that crosses over Port Imperial Boulevard, apparently intended to link the Light Rail station with the ferry terminal, is right now a bridge to nowhere. It just stops at the eastern end.
"You're stopped both ways," Andrus said. "There's no way to get from Boulevard East to the waterfront unless you want to take a taxi or take your life into your hands."
Many Weehawken commuters do exactly that. They walk down Pershing Road, then get to the foot of the road and have to cross the dangerous highway to get to the Light Rail station by dodging traffic.
"If you want to walk, you either have to walk a long ways to the other set of stairs [near Eldorado Place] or you walk down Pershing Road and face danger," Andrus said. "I was encouraged when they started to put the overpass up. But the work started twice and then came to a screeching halt. I asked one of the construction workers and they said that everything should be done by December, but obviously, that's not the case."
Added Andrus, "I feel when I look at that bridge like it's a cruel hoax. You see it being built and then nothing. There's no sign, no word, nothing. It's extremely frustrating, because we feel we're being prejudiced against. There are people who live on the waterfront in North Bergen and Guttenberg who get shuttle buses and I have an issue with that. It just doesn't seem fair."
Another commuter, who only wanted to be identified as Trish, felt the same way.
"It seems as if they started the bridge and then never bothered to finish it," Trish said. "So I got frustrated and started to drive to the waterfront to get to work. I feel like it's a waste of money if it's not going to get built. It doesn't seem like it's worth it."
New shuttle service
Well, beginning Jan. 28, a lot of those commuting headaches are about to become easier, courtesy of a joint program between the township of Weehawken, NY Waterway and NJ Transit.
A new shuttle service will be made available, free of charge to Weehawken residents, that will take commuters right down Pershing Road to the waterfront and provide safe transportation with direct stops to both the ferry terminal and the Light Rail station.
According to Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner, the service will feature two shuttle buses from NJ Transit and provide drivers from NY Waterway with no cost to the township, except periodical general maintenance to the buses.
The buses will run every 15 minutes during the morning rush between 7-10 a.m. and will also run from 4:30 p.m. through 7:45 p.m. during the evening rush hours Monday through Friday.
"The buses will pick up passengers every day and stop at every corner along the route where people may be waiting," Turner said.
The route will begin at the Troy Towers in Union City, come down Gregory Avenue to Highpoint Avenue and then Hudson Place to Hackensack Plank Road, then continue down Hackensack Plank Road to 19th Street in the Shades, then make a left up Boulevard East to Pershing Road and then back down the Pershing Road to the waterfront.
A similar route will be in place during the evening rush as well.
A flyer with the route and the hours of operation will be sent to all Weehawken residents within the next week or so.
The shuttle service will be in operation beginning Monday, Jan. 28.
"Right now, it's strictly Monday through Friday, but we hope to extend some sort of weekend service in the future, once we begin operation and get the kinks out," Turner said. "This is the first time we've ever had any kind of shuttle service, so there might be some obstacles to begin with. But yes, people don't have to walk from Boulevard East to the waterfront. They can take a shuttle that will run every 15 minutes. The commuters now have another option. It's an alternative to walking down there."
Safe passage for pedestrians
Turner hopes that the new shuttle service will help alleviate the fears that commuters have of walking down to the waterfront. He said that he understands the frustration that commuters have had, seeing the stairs and the pedestrian overpass being constructed and then not having it ready for use almost a full year later.
"People may be frustrated, but they have to understand that things like this take time," Turner said. "These things have been built for a reason. The stairs are built into the cliff and the design and construction took time. You just don't snap your fingers and things open. You have to make sure that they're 100 percent ready."
Turner said that the delay in the stairwell has been caused by adding a connecting sidewalk from one side of Pershing Road to the other.
"Most people don't realize that we can't have people crossing Pershing Road in the middle to get to the stairs," Turner said. "That would also be dangerous. We need a sidewalk on the other side of the street. It's a very delicate operation, but we're moving forward on the sidewalk."
As for the pedestrian bridge, Turner said that it's just unfortunate that the bridge was built before the remainder of the Port Imperial South commercial complex, to be built by Roseland Properties, Inc., was completed.
"Because of the Light Rail, some things had to be built out of sequence," Turner said. "The bridge was never intended to be open. People just assume that the bridge is behind schedule, when actually, it's ahead of schedule because of the Light Rail station. The process was a little reversed to get the Light Rail station open. The Light Rail is way ahead of schedule. It looks disjointed, but it's really not."
Added Turner, "The bridge isn't ready to be open by any stretch of the imagination. It's supposed to be tied to a building, a parking structure built by Roseland. Eventually, that's what will happen. But it's going to take a while. Things had to get done out of sequence in order to put the mass transit in place. It's three years ahead of schedule. And none of this would have even been thought out without the Light Rail and the ferry terminal. The bridge and stairs will be completed. It just will take some time."
And Turner said that there never has been a timetable to complete the project.
"We simply don't know how long it will take," Turner said.
Now, commuters have another option, a safe one, courtesy of the new shuttle system that will be up and running in two weeks.
Jim Hague can be reached via e-mail at either OGSMAR@aol.com or jhague@hudsonreporter.com
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